Gaiting-strap



M. P. McGATHY. Gmms STRAP. APPLICATION FILED DEC. Il, ISIS.

1,354,410. y PatentedSept. 28, 31920.

WIM/8858 f2- @Ww vATTORNEYS UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

GAITING-STRAP.

Specification of Letters Patent. i Patented Sept'. 28, 1920.

AApplicationivle. lecember 11, Y1919. Serial No. 344,212.

T 0 all 'whom t may concern.'

Be it known that I, lvlaunicn P. MGCARTHY, a citizen of the vUnitedStates, and a resident of Hartford, in the county of Hartford and Stateof Connecticut, have invented anew and Improved Gaiting-Strap, of whichthe following is a full, clear, and exact description. A y

lThis invention relates to harness and more particularly to harnesspartsknown as gaiting straps used in training horses for the race track. v

Friinarilv it is abroad object of my invention to provide means forfacilitating the breaking and training of young horses to handlethemselves properly in the shafts of the trotting` sulky,l andto providemeans for restraining the horse from side movements or lateral trottingn'iovements so prevalent in the nature of horses when they are firsttaken np for training. j

Further, it is an object to provide the aforesaid means in the nature ofa new and useful gaiting stra-p which is convenient in application,strong and efficient in use, and which will positively nnction toforcibly restrain the horse from swinging to onev side during his courseof training. Y

The use of gaiting straps or equivalent Vdevices is not entirely new asit is usually the custom with horse trainers to employ some v form ofstrap or heavy cord with one end thereof attached to the front end ofthe shafts and the other end thereof Xed to the cross bar of the shaft.IVhen the strap is drawn very taut and properly adjusted it forciblyrestrains the horse from side movements and causes his step to bealined, making the horse track, that is to say, forcing` the horse to sotravel either slow gaits or fast gaits as to cause his hind feet tofollow in perfect alinement with his fore feet. In presenting myinvention for the beneicent use in the horse training industry I have inmind so improving and constructing a gaiting strap as will enable it tobe quickly fastened on the shaft of a sulky or other vehicle andeliminate the great inconvenience and unreliability encountered by usingstraps and ropes or .makeshifts as is so prevalent around the horsetraining quarters of race tracks.

In constructing a gaiting strap in accordance with the concepts of myinvention I employ an adjustable clamp ring fastened to one end of agaiting strap. The lother lby showing the adjustable gait-ing strapmounted on a shaft of a racing sullqf or other vehicle. It is to beunderstood that varia-tions in design or construction, as long as madein conformitywvith the appended claims, come within the purview of myinvention.

Figure l of the drawings illustrates a planv view of a pair of vehicleshafts with the animal to be trained-positioned in the shafts and agaiting strap mounted thereupon for the purpose of rest-raining theanimal from side swings. Y Y

Fig. 2 shows a cross sectional view taken upon the line 2 2 of Fig. l inorder to illustrate a particular form of adjusted clamp ring.

Fig. 8 illustrates a cross sectional view taken on the plane of section3 3 of Fig. 2.

Fig. a illustrates a view as developed on the line 1 -a of Fig. l inorder to illustrate the structure of the attachment loop.

Fig. 5 shows a plan view of a roller yoke or attachment fixture used forthe purpose of adjustably oining the gaiting strap with the attachmentloop.

Referring now more particularly to the drawings for the detaileddescription of the invention, the numeral 7 points out an open ringconstructed in the form of a clamp having ears through which a clampscrew 8 is threaded. The clamp screw can be rotated to close or open theclamp ring 7. The loop 9 is made integral on the clamp ring for thepurpose of connecting the gaiting strap with the clamp ring. The clampring is preferably covered with leather vor other material to preventthe chating or marring of the sulky shafts.

A gaiting strap 12 has one end thereof permanently joined to the ring byfastening said gaiting strap to the loop 9. The gaiting strap ispreferably made round or oval in cross section for the maj or part ofits length in order that there will be no sharp corners or edges whichwould contact and unduly rub the side of the animal. The other end ofYbuckle 13. 1 11nY attachment'loop Mis constructed in the gaiting strap12 is provided With a' j buckle 13 Where the end of the gaiting strap ispassed through the buckle and adapted to loop over a roller yoke and besecured 1n said accordance Vwith the design shown in Fig.V

"4 and provided With a'buckle 15'. The attachment loop ispermanentlyjoined with a roller yoke 16. The roller yoke V16 ispreferably formed of a single piece of' material `With end *bars 17, andhaving a roller 18 Acarried on a pintle 19 with the roller spacedsomewhat closer to one of the bars than the other.' It is seen,therefore, that the attachmentV loop provides the fiexible strap 111permanently joined to theroller yoke 16.

In mounting the gaiting strap on vehicle shafts it is necessary to applythe clamp ring 7 to one of the' shafts as shown in Fig. 2

rand pressure Willy be brought to bear' on the open ring by the properuse of the clamp" Y l' screw' 8." n this manner the leather coveredclamp ring 7-is permanently anddependably secured to the front end ofthe shaft as shown inFig. 1. The attachment loopfis Y next passedoverthe cross bar of the shaft and given a number of Wraps therearoundor-simply looped overthe cross bar as shown in Fig. L1.V `The rear endof thegaiting` strap is then passed over the roller 18 and drawn tautandV fastened in the buckle 13.

After the gaiting strap is mounted on the' shaft it can then be drawnstill tighter by properly adjusting the rear end of the gait` ing strapover the roller 18 Whenthe animal isV placed in the shafts as shown inFig. 1.

' The 'proper alinement of the gaiting strap can be obtained by makingsuch adjustments as Will cause the gaiting strap 12 to Ytake up a closedposition-to the side of the animal f when he is centrally alined Withinthe l Vshafts.'

' Considerable strains and exertions occur throughout the harness andequipment of horse training.apparatus'-jand the device shouldnecessarily Vbe constructed of sub-V .stantially heavy leather. It ispointed'ou't that the rollerryoke 17 is an adaptation of Vsimilardeyices now used on harness with the exceptionthat it is provided' witha bar 17 made on ,each-end" of jthe yoke. Heretofore it'has beenthevpractice tojemploy roller yokes having only'one end bar and shouldthe roller'18 or pintle 19break or be pulled from the yoke itwvouldfreevthe strap to become entangled inV they feet of the running' animal. ltispointed out in this case that the front cross'bar 17 will immediatelycatchthe gaiting strap 12 incase the roller 18 or pintle 19- shouldbecome broken or pulled out and thus avoid the danger incident to loosestraps `dangling* from the shafts of a vehicle drawn by an animalltraveling rapid paces. j

i Having thus describedmyinvention, What l claim as new-and desiretosecure by Letters Patent is: g"

LA gaitng strap torrestrain a horse un-Q ing trained from side swinginginthe shafts of a sulky, comprising aflexible memberV adapted to haveone end thereof fixed to the front end of the sulkyV shaft, a loop madeon the other end thereof, a roller confined in the loop, a frame` tocarry the roller, and a strap attached tothe frame for the purposeofsecuring the rear endrof the gait-V ing strap to the frame of asulky.

MAURICE PATRICK lllCCAltTHY.

